SCHEDULING NOTE: There will be no digest next Monday, August 19^th. We will return Monday, August 26^th.

WHITE HOUSE:

As the summer heats up, and campaign season switches into high gear with less than 90 days to go before the election, DC is slowing down a bit for the summer. The White House focused this week on the release of several American detainees in Russia, finalizing several international agreements related to narcotics(with China) and naval propulsion (with Australia), and renewing the Administration’s existing Executive Order on international cyber-security. One item of indirect interest for us:

• They celebrated the second anniversary of the passage of the CHIPS Act. While primarily focused on domestic chips manufacturing, the Act has led to significant investment, both public and private, in the workforce for the tech sector through regional hubs around the country. If you’re involved in tech development in those areas, there may be opportunities to tap into.

CONGRESS:

With the choice of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as the running mate for the Democratic ticket, our field is set for the presidential election. In the short-term, the ticket has energized Democrats and led to a bump for the Vice President in the latest polls, although the wisdom of the choice is very much up for debate. Here’s some more background on Governor Walz, as well as more information specifically related to his views on healthcare policy. Ultimately, the election will come down to the battleground states, and good luck to the folks there that will have to experience the onslaught of political ads over the next few months. Elsewhere in the political world:

• The VA budget shortfall that we’ve been tracking are threatening to throw a wrench into the already complicated budget discussions for September.

• Another member of the squad lost her primary in Missouri this week in the latest sign that voters are unhappy with extremist politicians.

• The FEC is choosing not to get involved in regulating the use of AI in election ads for the upcoming election, recognizing that entering an arena that is struggling with regulation and with which the FEC has no relevant experience is unwise.

• Politico explored what to expect from the President’s final six months in office.

• One interesting CRS report from the week: a guide to Congress on the role of private equity in healthcare and the role that Congress may play in enforcement. You can access a copy here (PDF).

AGENCIES:

CMS issued a final notice on Medicare’s plan to provide more timely access for new technologies to Medicare beneficiaries. This is designed to speed up the process within which beneficiaries can tap into breakthrough technology. The notice is scheduled for publication to the Federal Register on August 12^th, but if you simply cannot wait to read the 108 page final rule, you can download a prepublication copy here (PDF). Here are summaries of the new rule from Axios and Fierce Healthcare.

For those impacted by Hurricane Debby, CMS issued waivers to healthcare providers in Florida, Georgia & South Carolina. More information is available at CMS’ “Current Emergencies” page.

As we get closer to the announcement of the new pricing on the 10 drugs selected for negotiation with Medicare, executive from drug companies are claiming that they’re not concerned about the impact it will have on their bottom line (at least in the short-term). The news comes as yet another lawsuit against the plan failed.

HHS, via HRSA, announced over $9 million in funding for 18 health centers to improve access to cancer screening in underserved communities.

The DOE announced $2.2 billion in grants to build more resilient power grids in 18 states across the country. The projects should help deliver more consistent power and lower costs in the regions. A full list of projects can be found here.

FROM THE NOTEBOOK:

• United Healthcare announced plans for a “gold card” program that would eliminate the need for certain providers to seek prior authorization. You can access a copy of the fact sheet that they issued here (PDF). The program comes as states such as Arkansas and New Hampshire are attempting to tackle the prior authorization problem through legislation.

• The Kaiser Family Foundation did a deep dive into Medicare Advantage this week, turning up some disturbing information, including the fact that more than 7.4% of prior authorization requests were denied in 2022, an increase from prior years. The full analysis is here. They also looked at trends in enrollment and spending.

• The news came as Centene announced they were pulling their MA plans in six states.

• WTW released their 2023 analysis of liability costs. You can request a copy of the report at their website.

• Another look at Epic’s plans to make it easier for patients to access their health records through new apps.

• A deep dive into how the Chevron decision will impact health care policy across the country.

• Delaware passed several pieces of legislation aimed at beefing up the state’s regulatory oversight of SNF’s.

• Missouri is clearing out its survey backlog.

• McKnight’s has a good report on how one SNF network is partnering with a local university to tackle their workforce shortage.

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